Note to chief: BlackBerry and driving don’t mix

He has owned up to using his BlackBerry to scan newspaper headlines and e-mail while driving. And, as he likely would have warned anyone, the result was a rear-end accident.

On Thursday, Wilson issued an apology for the March 18 accident, which the city says caused neither injuries nor damage. A city news release described him as “mortified.”

“I take full responsibility,” he said in a news release.

The Federal Way city manager reviewed the accident and issued the chief a verbal reprimand.

In case you’re wondering, the chief was driving an unmarked police car, and state law exempts drivers of emergency vehicles from the prohibition against using a device like a BlackBerry.

But he admits that the exception is intended to aid police and other emergency workers in doing their job. That’s not what he was doing. “Was this an essential communication for me to be on at this time? No,” he said in the news release.

The accident was at South 324th Street and Pacific Highway South in Federal Way. After the bump, he turned on his emergency lights and radioed for backup.

Bet the driver of the other car had a fright. And the arriving officers a grin.